A New Pacific Rim Contender: Herbert Smith Freehills

As the global economic center of gravity tips ever eastward, law firms have been focusing lots of energy on the Pacific Rim, with some interesting results–not least the Sino-Aussie tie-up this year that produced King & Wood Mallesons, the largest firm in the region with neither a U.S. nor U.K. partner.

But there’s a lot else going on as firms position themselves to reap the bounty of economic growth in China and other developing–and developed–nations in the region. Global firms are lining up to open offices in South Korea, and a flurry of merger activity and alliances has expanded U.K. firms’ reach into resource-rich Australia.

The latest: the merger announced Wednesday between British law firm Herbert Smith LLP and Freehills, a leading Australian firm. The combination will produce a 2,800-lawyer firm that Herbert Smith managing partner David Willis described in an interview this week as “the leading fully-integrated firm across Asia.”

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